An animated walk through of Watchtower's history

The Old Testicle

This video was made using material researched from their own publications as well as outside sources.

This wasn't produced to bash the organisation but provide a background to its origin and path to today. The organisation's falls on the merit that this is factual and not sensational.

It can be shown to JWs as a neutral piece even though the religion doesn't come out looking that great.

TD

Good approach

Only a couple of minor pedant points:

Jonas Wendell restored Russell's wavering faith in God and the Bible, but Russell, by his own testimony, rejected Wendell's dates because he couldn't stomach the idea of the burning of the world. (c.f. The Watch Tower July 15, 1906, p. 230)

In Russell's own words, he "looked with pity" upon Mr. Wendell's teachings.

Russell did not accept Adventist chronology until he met Nelson Barbour in 1876 and Jehovah's Witnesses today are indebted to Barbour for the one, single element chronological element of that era that they still accept today. (i.e. 1914)

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Out of curiosity, I wonder what edition of The Plan Of The Ages / The Divine Plan Of The Ages is 424 pages? I would guess that this is the expanded, "As Revealed In The Great Pyramid" edition and not the one Russell wrote in 86

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The first condemnation of transfusion was in 1944, not 1945

truth_b_known

1976 - Governing Body arrangement is created. Ironically, that Governing Body now claims there has always been a Governing Body going back to the Apostles in the 1st century congregation.

1979 - Jesus is declared the mediator only for the annointed. I am not sure which is crazier; the belief that contradict the core teaching of Christianity or that the Watchtower took so long to go "full retard".

1981 - The Watchtower comes up with shunning aka "Disfellowshipping". It only took them 1,950 years to come up with this unchristian practice.

pistolpete

The Overlapping Generation bought the WT another 80 years--not 25 years.

Willie647

1981 is not right about disfellowshipping or shunning. I remember as far back as the late 60s the practice was used. DF and shunning is much older then the eighties.

vienne

Way too much that is inaccurate. Russell was not swayed by Millerism and his doctrines do not come from that source. He admired Miller for forcing people to look at Bible prophecies, but there were others, some of whom Russell names, that came before and who were greater influences on him.

Wendell did not start the Second Adventists. Not even close. See Isaac Wellcome's history of the second adventists movement for details.

A minor point is that Sunderlin and Bender, who Russell sent to Britain and Ireland to circulate Food for Thinking Christians, were not colporteurs and were not called such. They were there to make business contacts and to arrange for the printing of the UK version of "Food."

The errors in this video are many, and though I may note more later, I have a paper to write due on Monday. So that's it for now.

On the roots of Russell's belief system, try this:

Penton draws on Schulz and de Vienne's books. [Rachael de Vienne was my mom, just for clarity here. And yes, I'm a bit partisan] Their Separate Identity books are on Amazon and Lulu and other book sites. Mom and Schulz both held PhD's and Bruce Schulz is B. W. Schulz, PhD, FRHistS [Fellow of the Royal History Society]

DATA-DOG

You’re dumb and your video is dumb. I’m smart. Come back when you’ve started 4 topics.

SC